Minato teleported several hundred meters away, creating a considerable distance.
Isshiki's nano black rods hadn't spread that far yet.
'Jiraiya-sensei! Orochimaru!'
Witnessing Jiraiya and Orochimaru being killed instantly, Minato grew increasingly furious and filled with killing intent.
But the angrier he became during the battle, the calmer he forced himself to be.
He knew full well that if he lost his composure and acted recklessly in a fight against such a powerful enemy, he would face certain death!
He had to find a way to understand the enemy's abilities and fighting style, identify their weaknesses, and kill them with a single strike!
"Is this the famous Flying Thunder God Technique? Despite not having a Kekkei Genkai, ninjas can still produce some quite impressive ninjutsu!"
"Fourth Hokage, let me see how many times you can dodge!"
Isshiki activated the Kama mark on his body, and a black pattern appeared on his face.
This state was far stronger than Urashiki's previous transformation, directly boosting Isshiki's physical power to a quasi-Six Paths level.
*WHOOSH!*
Isshiki dashed through the air and charged toward Minato.
The distance of several hundred meters was covered in an instant, and the tremendous speed compressed the air into a shockwave, forming a large ripple that spread outward.
'So fast!'
Minato's pupils contracted. This speed was almost on par with his own in Kyuubi mode!
*CLANG!*
The specially crafted kunai and Isshiki's black rod collided, creating a massive airwave.
"That's a good reaction! Very few ninjas can keep up with my speed."
Isshiki smiled and praised, still full of confidence.
Minato was too lazy to waste time talking, and he had no intention of making peace with an enemy who had killed Jiraiya.
He simply formed a large Rasengan with his left hand and fired it at Isshiki in front of him.
Unfortunately, as soon as the Rasengan touched Isshiki, it was quickly absorbed by the Kama on his body.
With the Kama, he had no fear of any ninjutsu.
'A mark that can absorb ninjutsu? Just like the one on Obito. So this is the mark this person left on Obito?'
Minato immediately guessed the truth, but such power wouldn't come without a cost.
If it were truly free, he feared the price would be even higher.
At the same time, Isshiki's counterattack also arrived.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Dozens of black rods suddenly expanded and appeared around Minato, stabbing toward him.
Minato once again activated the Flying Thunder God and narrowly avoided the attack from Sukunahikona's black rods, teleporting over a hundred meters away.
"Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique!"
With the Kyuubi as his power source, Minato could perform large-scale ninjutsu and expend a lot of energy more freely, without worrying about his chakra consumption.
Moreover, only mixed real and fake attacks like this could easily counter Isshiki's absorption.
Facing the torrential rain of shuriken attacks, Isshiki became slightly more cautious.
He truly couldn't see the physical kunai hidden within the barrage. So Isshiki swung the black rod in his hand, spinning it at high speed, forming a powerful black tornado that easily blocked the shuriken rain.
Minato also quickly created dozens of shadow clones, attacking Isshiki from all directions.
Before understanding the enemy's abilities, using clones to test the waters was undoubtedly the most stable approach.
Of course, the prerequisite was having a Tailed Beast as a power source.
Otherwise, even Six Paths Sasuke wouldn't casually create a large number of clones.
For an ordinary ninja, randomly using shadow clones for testing in battle was akin to seeking death.
❂❂❂❂❂
Facing the onslaught of Minato's numerous shadow clones, Isshiki showed no fear. He swung the black rod in his hand again, displaying incredibly strong physical skills.
The black rod was wielded in various ways in his hands.
Single-point thrusts, diagonal stabs, swings, external twists, backward pressure, sweeps...
Each movement was incredibly powerful and fast, forming a limited black area around him, like a shadowy abyss, and anyone who approached would be instantly killed.
Even Minato himself could barely keep up with Isshiki's movements.
This man wasn't as arrogant as the other Otsutsuki. Over the past thousand years, he had thoroughly understood and mastered many physical skills and ninjutsu systems in the ninja world!
So much so that, in just a few rounds, Isshiki killed dozens of Minato's shadow clones around him.
Fortunately, Minato had plenty of clones, and a second wave of shadow clones immediately charged in.
Isshiki frowned, also realizing how troublesome these shadow clones were.
Jigen's body couldn't withstand Isshiki's immense power for long.
This level of consumption wouldn't meet his expectations.
So, Isshiki activated Daikokuten, shrinking himself to a nanometer scale and instantly disappearing from the encirclement of Minato's shadow clones.
"Disappeared? Is that a space-time ability?"
"No, there's no spatial fluctuation..."
"Is it possible?"
Seeing Isshiki vanish, Minato couldn't help but be shocked, quickly guessing something, and the sense of crisis in his heart surged.
Minato immediately activated the Flying Thunder God and teleported away.
The next moment, Isshiki suddenly appeared where Minato had just been, almost stabbing him with a black rod!
Fortunately, Minato had teleported first.
Minato, who reappeared a hundred meters away, frowned as he looked at Isshiki in the distance.
'No spatial fluctuation? Appearing without any warning?'
'Just like Sir?'
'NO! There's a trace of evil chakra approaching, proving he has a movement path, but I can't see it?'
'Invisible? Or invisible to the naked eye?'
'Could he have shrunk himself?'
'Can he shrink himself and other objects to a size invisible to the naked eye and then restore them in an instant?'
'Hmm... very likely, which would explain the sudden appearance of the black rods!'
In just two rounds, Minato had basically figured out the characteristics of the Kokugan eye technique. Although he wasn't entirely sure, he had guessed the truth.
Next, he just needed to confirm it again and find a way to counter it.
Minato's combat talent and IQ were also among the best in the ninja world.
As long as he understood the enemy's abilities and characteristics, he could significantly reduce the threat.
❂❂❂❂❂
"Truly slippery!"
"That is indeed the Flying Thunder God Technique. In a sense, it's comparable to divine art!"
"Among the ninjas I've seen, you are one of the best."
Isshiki looked at Minato in the distance and muttered in admiration.
Facing a space-time ninjutsu as deviant as the Flying Thunder God, Isshiki couldn't help but feel a headache.
But now that he had taken action, he didn't want to delay any longer.
He didn't want to let Minato go.
Otherwise, he would have wasted his power and spent several years of Jigen's vitality for nothing.
But if Minato was determined to leave, Isshiki wouldn't have a good way to stop him.
He had to let this Hokage take the initiative.
Isshiki suddenly had an idea and smiled wickedly:
"Fourth Hokage, you don't seem to have much fighting spirit! It's not fun if you just keep dodging and hiding."
"Alright, let me add a little seriousness. You have three minutes."
"If you can hurt me, I'll give you Obito and leave immediately."
"If you can't do that, then I have no choice but to go to Konoha Village and pay you a proper visit!"
"Come to think of it, your wife and child should be in the village, right?"
Isshiki casually threatened, and behind his elegant and relaxed demeanor, a cold and cruel devil seemed to lurk.
He just wanted to force Minato to attack him so he wouldn't have to teleport around to dodge.
"You're asking for death!"
Minato's face suddenly turned as dark as ink, his killing intent and anger reaching their peak.
No one could threaten him with his wife, child, and village!
Isshiki truly deserved to die!